THE ULTIMATE SUBJECT
There is no phrase more often in use in Christian thought and speech than that of “The Will of God." It constantly recurs in our reading of Scripture; our hymns are very many of them concerned with it; and in prayer we give utterance to it again and again.
This familiarity has in some measure robbed us of a keen sense of its vital importance. Its meaning is all too little realized. In common with many of the most sacred things, it has largely become a kind of obsession that is worshipped because it has a sound of piety; while the fact that it is the highest subject of revelation, and the one and only abiding law of life, is forgotten. Notions that are false in themselves, and, therefore, pernicious in their effects, are held concerning it. These are not the result of thought, but rather of the lack of thought. There are many who imagine that the Will of God is something apart from human interests, to which men are to be resigned whenever they happen to be brought into contact with it. Frances Ridley Havergal said that “there is always a sigh of regret in resignation." This is perfectly true; and that conception of the Will of God which looks upon it as a Divine interference to which we are to be resigned, is evil in its effects. How many there are who only think of their relation to the Will of God in times of sorrow and trial. They are perfectly sincere, therefore, when they sing‑
“If Thou shouldst call me to resign
What most I prized—it ne'er was mine;
I only yield Thee what was Thine: Thy will be done!"
Yet the very words of the hymn reveal the fact that the singer does not truly understand the safety, the blessedness, the delight of dwelling in the circle of the Divine Will.
The one and only law of life that sets a man free from all the forces that blight and destroy is the Will of God. Show me a man who lives for one day wholly, utterly, in word and thought and deed in the Will of God, and I will show you a man who is antedating heaven, and who for that day reaches the plane of life which is at once broadest, freest, and gladdest. He is submissive to be where Christ says he stands (in this state) when he arrives and is taken to the Father’s house (Jude 24).
The word of God is given to man not that he may have a correct theory, but that he may have the truth. Truth is a sanctifying force, and a man holds the truth only when he is held by the truth. (The washing of the water by the word. Eph. 5:26 – Daily conversation and reading of and with the Word – Matt.28:20b.) When truth possesses a man, all its glory and beauty are manifested through his life and character. The truth the Bible reveals is the Will of God for man. Sanctification by truth is the bringing of man into the Will of God.
“The means of grace" are means to an end that end being the realization of the Will of God. Every one of them tends to that issue.
"The hope of glory" is the hope that ultimately the Will of God will be done upon the earth as in the heaven, or that the spirit of man, passing into the heavenly state, shall realize all the full blessedness of that Will. (Rom. 5:2)
All prayer lies within the two petitions of the pattern prayer the Master taught His disciples: “Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done." (Matt. 6:10) There is no prayer beyond that. It may be divided into sentences and syllables, and made to fit the necessity of the hour; but when prayer moves the heart of God, it is because it is confined within that compass.
Allow your imagination to carry you back to the past ages. Amid the silences of that immeasurable eternity you are conscious of perfect peace, perfect happiness, and perfect love back with Adam at creation. The explanation is to be found in the fact that the Will of God was perfectly done. None can declare the genesis of evil, but its nature is clearly known—it is rebellion against the Will of God. The mystery of how that first came to be is absolutely inscrutable, but the fact is established beyond question.
We are but infinitesimal portions of the universe of God, but the being of the smallest particle of created things is conditioned in His Will, and its success or failure depends upon its realization of, or failure to realize that Will. The utmost subject in every life, then, is that His Will should be discovered and obeyed.
Today we are hearing much on every hand on such subjects as the filling of the Spirit, holiness, power for service. This is cause for gratitude; but, after all, these are means to an end, and that end is the Will of God. A Spirit-filled man is a most glorious being; but by that condition he has not reached the goal, he has only become equipped for fulfilling the essential of his life. Holiness is to be sought and found. A holy man is not, however, to rest in his holiness. It is health for perpetual obedience, Power for service is a great blessing, but service as response to the Will of God is the highest matter.
The most vital consideration for every human life is as to whether we are, and do, that which accords with the Will of God.
John declares (1 John 2:17) that the doing of the Will of God is the condition of permanence amid the perishing and passing of the world. We are conscious that all around is perishing; yea, and we ourselves, as to bodily powers, pass away. We are also conscious of a passionate desire for permanence. The possessive pronouns are at once a revelation of that desire, and a confession of weakness. “My house"; and it is gone! “My child"; and it is dead! There is permanence only in the Will of God, and there only can we fully use the possessive pronoun, “My Lord and my God." (John 20:28)
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